Typically, municipal elections in mid-sized American cities don’t make the national news. But when Andrea Jenkins won her race for a seat on the Minneapolis City Council on November 7, she became the first openly transgender woman of color ever elected to public office in the United States.

Sen. Wendy Davis, D-FortWorth, sits at her desk after the Texas Senate passes an abortion bill, Friday, July 12, 2013, in Austin, Texas. The bill will require doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals, only allow abortions in surgical centers, dictate when abortion pills are taken and ban abortions…